Was David Vincent to Blame for Morbid Angel’s Misguided ‘Illud Divinum Insanus?’

Morbid Angel's output in the 2000s has been sporadic, meaning that each new record comes with an intense amount of anticipation and, ultimately, scrutiny. Fans had hoped the band would rebound from 2003's Heretic and it's video game-like guitar tones and their reunion with David Vincent brought things to a fevered pitch. The byproduct of this alliance was 2011's Illud Divinum Insanus, one of the most universally panned albums in metal's history ... and Trey Azagthoth has pointed the finger at his former co-conspirator.

“It just shows how David and I are in different worlds these days," Azagthoth told Guitar World when speaking about his musical relationship with Vincent. "He is, for sure, an artist and great in his own way, but was becoming so very different than what I was into. [Illud Divinum Insanus] was a confused effort and that is why I changed the lineup," he continued. The new lineup, which gave us the return-to-form Kingdoms Disdained, saw the return of Vincent's initial successor, Steve Tucker, alongside newly-minted guitarist Dan Vadim Von and drummer Scott Fuller.

Death metal's legendary axeman continued to speak about the shortcomings of Morbid Angel's misguided 2011 effort, stating that rehearsals and recording indicated that "the result was going to be off." He continued, "David made his vocals too loud — like usual — and the rhythm guitars got subdued in the mix," noting that the bassist / vocalist flew to Los Angeles and possibly had a say in the final mix. As for the album's most spurned track, "Radikult," which infamously found Vincent entertaining rap-like cadences, Azagthoth commented, "Nothing could save a silly song like ‘Radikult,’ which I just tried to ignore. I had nothing to do with that thing.”

Since being ousted from the Morbid Angel ranks in 2015, Vincent has formed an offshoot group, I Am Morbid, which is dedicated to playing Vincent-era Morbid Angel material exclusively. "Sometimes [you've just got to] laugh," said Azagthoth about the group, wishing his former bandmate the best in his endeavors. "Working with Steve [Tucker] is awesome and we go out there and do all that fucked up, sick-ass shit again," the guitarist added, returning the focus to his own band and their commitment to playing certifiable death metal.